Leading gay advocacy groups team up to form ‘United for Marriage’

NEW YORK – Freedom to Marry (FM), the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund (NGLTFA) have teamed up to form United for Marriage, a national effort to recruit volunteers for the state campaigns.

The campaign will use two programs to harness the growing support for marriage for same-sex couples nationwide into concrete, on-the-ground action before voters decide on the freedom to marry in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington Nov. 6:

Volunteer Vacation, in which volunteers commit a week to one of the state campaigns, is recruiting now.

Drive for Marriage, to be unveiled later, will place volunteers in states near them for a weekend.

“There’s no doubt in our minds that this year is a turning point,” said Jay Cash, the national campaign director for United for Marriage. “Americans overwhelmingly want to stop shutting same-sex couples out of marriage. We know that the best antidotes to the inevitable anti-gay attacks are real stories about why marriage matters to same-sex couples and their families. Through this effort, we’ll significantly grow the numbers of people who can tell their stories in these four states.”

With support from Travel for Change, the campaign will recruit and screen volunteers, organize housing and travel, and provide online training run by the NGLTFA. State campaigns will train volunteers for specific tasks on their arrival.

“Winning at the ballot will take away our opponents’ last talking point, and with sufficient numbers of volunteers we can make it happen,” Cash said. “We are putting out the call to supporters, both gay and non-gay, who stand for freedom and equality for all to join us in making the case.”

United for Marriage believes 2012 is a crucial chapter in securing marriage for all loving couples, with numerous court and legislative victories in recent years and recent polls showing that a majority of Americans now support the freedom to marry.